MARITIME Border Command within the Australian Border Force, together with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, apprehended a Vietnamese fishing vessel on Thursday, November 3, 2016 near the Saumarez Reefs, about 180 nautical miles northeast of Gladstone. An MBC surveillance aircraft spotted the illegal foreign fishing vessel about 200 nautical miles inside the Australian exclusive economic zone. HMAS Maitland was tasked to …

CORAL reef fin fish will be off-limits from this Saturday, November 26 in the second of two annual closures that protect these fish during spawning season. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol district officer Tony Loader said the closure would start immediately after midnight at the beginning of November 26 and end immediately before midnight at the end of November 30. “The …

IN excellent news for Australian fish stocks, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority has confirmed the midwater super trawler, the Geelong Star, which has been operating in Australian waters since April 2015, is no longer under Australian jurisdiction. Inquiries about the decision to leave Australian waters or future fishing operations of the Geelong Star should be directed to the operator. The Geelong Star …

Mr Hansard, who also runs the Government-funded Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation, said net fishing in NSW would be targeted next year after reforms in the commercial sector were completed. This would centre on the Hawkesbury River, the Central Coast and in the Shoalhaven River. “It’s not that recreational fishers are against commercial fishers, no,” Mr Hansard said. “We need to …

This area includes huge storage underneath and an optional centre board can be inserted to extend the fishing platform across the front. Formosa Marine has always offered a large range of bowriders, from the Classic 520 to the Offshore 660 for a total of eight models. Now the X Bowrider upgrade is available on sizes 580, 620 and 660. Formosa …

TIRED of centre consoles, tiller steers and open boats in general? Wouldn’t it be nice to have some shelter from the elements? Bunk area is a generous 1500mm centreline with the ability to stretch out to 2m along the bunks. Bolted on the back is a 140hp Suzuki four-stroke. Supplied by a 150-litre underfloor fuel tank, this boat is more …

QUEENSLAND’S annual spanner crab closed season for recreational and commercial fishing commences at midnight on November 20 and runs through until midnight on December 20. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol district officer Russell Overton said the closed season protects spanner crabs when they are most vulnerable during their breeding season. “The closed season gives the crabs a chance to spawn …

NSW Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair recently welcomed the passing of legislation through NSW Parliament with bipartisan support to expedite a trial of shark nets on five North Coast beaches. “Passing this legislation is an important step towards getting the shark net trial in place on the North Coast by the summer school holidays by streamlining the approvals process, …